Feb. 02, 2009
Grey Hautaluoma
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0668
grey.hautaluoma-1@nasa.gov
Jonas Dino
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
650-604-6512
jonas.dino@nasa.gov
Frank Curran
Universities Space Research Association, Huntsville, Ala.
256-971-0243
fcurran@usra.edu
RELEASE: 09-013
NASA SELECTS TEAMS FOR MOON IMPACT OBSERVATION CAMPAIGN
MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- NASA has selected four teams to observe the
impact of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, known
as LCROSS, with the lunar surface during the mission's search for
water ice on the moon.
The LCROSS mission is a small companion mission to the Lunar
Reconnaissance Orbiter, scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral,
Fla., in spring 2009. Instruments aboard the satellite are designed
to search for evidence of water ice on the moon as the spacecraft
collides with a permanently shadowed crater near one of the moon's
poles. The resulting debris plumes are expected to be visible from
Earth with telescopes 10-to-12 inches in diameter or larger.
These chosen observation teams will provide additional data and
analysis about permanently shadowed craters to help researchers
determine if water exists on the moon and in what form. The LCROSS
mission and the Universities Space Research Association, or USRA, of
Columbia, Md., established specific selection criteria. USRA
administered the rigorous selection process.
"The LCROSS team is extremely pleased with the quality of proposals
received," said Jennifer Heldmann, lead for the LCROSS Observation
Campaign at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. "The
contributions from the selected observation proposals will contribute
substantially to the LCROSS mission."
The selected proposals are:
-- Accessing LCROSS Ejecta: Water Vapor and Particle Size and
Composition from Keck, Gemini, and the IRFT Telescopes; principal
investigator Eliot Young, Southwest Research Institute in Boulder,
Colo.
-- LCROSS Lunar Plume Observations with the Apache Point Observatory;
principal investigator Nancy Chanover, New Mexico State University in
Las Cruces.
-- Multi-spectral Imaging of the LCROSS Impact; principal investigator
Marc Buie, Southwest Research Institute.
-- Searching for Polar Water Ice During the LCROSS Impact Using the
MMT Observatory; principal investigator Faith Vilas, University of
Arizona in Tucson.
"We are proud to be a part of the process that will enable these very
important observations and look forward to working with the principal
investigators and our NASA counterparts to ensure success in the
observation campaign," said Frank Curran, director of USRA's
Operations in Huntsville, Ala. Curran was USRA's coordinator for the
selection process.
On the night of the impacts, the LCROSS science team will be in
constant contact with professional astronomers to provide live
targeting information. This information is crucial to ensuring the
astronomers point their large telescopes correctly to capture the
exact moment of the impacts and the resulting debris plumes.
NASA's Ames Research Center developed the LCROSS science payload. Ames
also is managing the project and conducting mission and science
operations. NASA's Lunar Precursor Robotic Program at NASA's Marshall
Space Flight Center in Huntsville managed the cooperative agreement
with USRA.
The Universities Space Research Association, established in 1969 by
the National Academy of Sciences, is a private, nonprofit consortium
of 102 universities offering advanced degrees in space- and
aeronautics-related disciplines.
For more information about the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing
Satellite mission, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/lcross
For more information about the LCROSS Observation Campaign, visit:
http://lcross.arc.nasa.gov/observation.htm
For more information about the Universities Space Research
Association, visit:
http://www.usra.edu
-end-